Crop Production and Pesticide Use: Has Ghana Overlooked the Obvious on Health?
Grace Bolfrey-Arku 
, Joyce Haleegoah & Stephen Arthur
Issue: Vol.5 No.10 Special Issue Article 3 pp. 25-35
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245103 | Published online 20th September, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Vegetables and cereals, besides health benefits, are of significant socio-economic importance in Ghana, because, the whole production process provides employment for both rural and urban dwellers. Unfortunately, the high prevalence of pests (weeds inclusive) and disease complexes, associated with them, inflict significant economic damage on field and storage, if not properly managed. This review purposed to document challenges from pesticide use and suggest perspective recommendations for mitigation. Information was sourced from published journal articles, technical and annual reports (Research Extension Farmer Linkage Committee (RELC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Ghana), and Institutions), the authors’ observations and personal communication with farmers, agricultural extension agents and other experts. The review analysis indicated over 80% of farmers use pesticides, particularly on high-value cash vegetable and cereal crops; and also to alleviate human labour constraints. Challenges such as pesticide resistance, increasing incidence of existing pests and diseases, or the manifestation of new pests and diseases due to climate change or continuous cropping among others were evident, prompting shifts to increased pesticide use for management and also for desired profit. Highlights on concerns for the insatiable quest for pests and disease control by chemical means, consequently increased reports on dangers of continuous pesticide use on human and public health, the environment and the economy. This research revealed that a minimal understanding of the use and application of pesticides contributed to the non-intended effects on health and the environment. Hopefully, the identified gaps and recommendations if properly addressed by policy would significantly enhance quality production systems for global trade and protect local consumers. State the contribution of this study to scholarship.
Keywords: Vegetable Crop Production, Pesticide Use, Contamination, Pesticide Residue, Public Health
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Grace Bolfrey-Arku, a Principal Research Scientist at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Ghana, holds a Ph.D. in Crop Science (University of Cape Coast [UCC], Ghana), M.Sc. in Weed Science, (Mississippi State University, USA) and B.Sc. Agriculture (UCC); and one of the first fellows of the Bill and Melinda Gates funded African Women in Agricultural Research Development (AWARD) Programme. She has over thirty-five (35) years experience in On-farm and On-station research activities which include evaluating the bio-efficacy of herbicides for private sector clients for certification by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). She is adept in project management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and provision of resource and advisory services to government and private sector clientele. She also lectures at the CSIR College of Science and Technology (CCST) and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) and currently the Associate Editor for the Brazilian journal ‘Advances in Weed Science’. Grace has 114 publications (journals, book chapters, conference papers, handbooks etc) to her credit focused on weed science with emphasis on social and economic aspect of weed management; Agronomy; Gender inclusive participatory research and Technology Dissemination; Integrated Research for Agricultural Development (IAR4D) and Crop and Environmental Safety.
Joyce Haleegoah, a Senior Research Scientist, is married woman with four adult children. She has PhD in Sociology, from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, an MA in Rural Sociology, from the University of Guelph, Canada, and a BA in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Ghana, Accra.Joyce’s research interest is in gender mainstreaming and gender policy development and other aspects of gender in agriculture including gender analysis in research planning and implementation and women in agricultural development; qualitative and participatory research methodologies; Innovative agricultural research for development (IAR4D); qualitative data analysis, food security issues; and local food transformation. Her achievements include about 20 refereed journal articles in her research interest areas and in collaboration with other scientists, gender handbooks and training manuals to her credit. She has helped build the capacity of many men and women farmers and extension officers in several aspects of gender in agricultural development.
Stephen Arthur is a Weed Scientist with the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Ghana. He earned his PhD. (Agronomy) and MPhil. (Agronomy-Weed Science) Degrees from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and a First Degree in Agricultural Science Education (BEd. Agricultural Science) from the University of Education Winneba, Ghana. Stephen’s research activities focus on integrated crop-weed/pest management systems, sustainable and climate smart cropping packages, weed ecology, economics of weed management and development of technologies to reduce synthetic pesticide use and abuse.
Bolfrey-Arku, Grace, Joyce Haleegoah and Stephen Arthur. “Crop Production and Pesticide Use: Has Ghana Overlooked the Obvious on Health?,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.10 Special Issue (2024): 25-35. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245103
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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